of east bridgewater



T. K. REED.

Sewing Machine Shuttle.

Patent d Feb. 19, 1 67;

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IMPROVEMENT IN TENSION MECHANISM FOR SEWING-MACHINE SHUTTLES.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, T. K. REED, of East Bridgewater,-in the county ofPlymouth, and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Sewing-Machine Shuttles; and I do hereby declarethat the following, taken in connection with the drawings whichaccompany and form part of this specification, is a description of myinvention sufiicient to enable those skilled in the art to practise it.

The invention relates to the construction of the common sewing-machineshuttle, or more particularly to the arrangement of the tensionmechanism thereof; and consists in the application of a hinged pad orplate to the inner surface of the shuttle or bobbin case, in'counectionwith an adjustable spring, through which pressure is produced upon thepad, and thence upon the threadpassing lengthwise between the pad andthe shuttle surface, the tension upon the thread being regulated byvarying the stress of thespring upon ,the pad. It'also consists in theapplication of a spur or toothed wheel to thc screw-shaft, by which thestress of the spring is regulated in such manner that the shaft may beworked by application of the finger to the wheel, or may be worked byany other device striking the teeth of the wheel-in or near the plane ofthe face of the shuttle, and in the direction of the length thereof.

The drawing represents the invention as embodied upon the ordinarySinger shuttle, A showing an openface view thereof; 13 a centralsection, the bobbin being removed; (I a cross-section, taken on one sideof the tension spring a denotes the bobbiu-containing case; b thebobbin, mounted therein in the ordinary manner.

' At one cnrhof the case a pad or swing plate, 0, ishinged, as seen atcl, the free end of the pad extending along .the inner surface of theside wall a, as seen at A. *At or near the point this pad has an eye,f,and at a considerable distance from said eye is a corresponding eye, "q,through the shuttle wall; and the thread passes from the bobbin throughthe first eye, thence between the adjacent surfaces of the pad andshuttle through the other eye, g. Into a hole in the pad, near thehinge, the end of a C-spring, h, hooks, the other end of said springbeing supported on and keyed to a screw-shaft, i, and againsta head, lc,thereof. This shaft turns and slides freely in bearings, o, and a spuror toothed wheel or nut, Z, is placed upon the shaft between thesebeaiings, as seen at A and C. This wheel or nut has a screw-threadworking on the thread of the screw, so that by turning the wheel, as thenut is kept from lateral movement by the bearings, the shaft is movedlengthwise, such fnovenlent of the shaft compressing or expanding thespring, and correspondingly compressing orreleus 'ing the pad 0,andthereby increasing or diminishing the pressure of the pad upon thethread passing between it and the shuttle wall. The wheel on thescrew-shaft is so disposed that the outer surface of the wheel projectsinto the plane of the shuttle-face, or into the plane of the bottom of agroove, m, cut down into the face, so that the wheel-may be readilyturned in either direction by application of the finger thereto, whenthe shuttle is removed from the machine, or may be operated by a devicein the machine itself, as described in my specification of improvementsdevised by me relating to adjusting the tension of sewing-machineshuttles, (patented December 4, 1866, No. 60,241.)

In relation to the application of the tension pad or plate 0, I am awarethat a tension plate, per se, independent of the manner of applying it,and of the means for adjusting its pressure upon the thread, is not new,but where the pad is itself a spring, without means of adjusting itsstress, or where anadjusting screw works directly through or against thepad, the tension cannot .be so evenly fixed as by applying the pad toswing, as shown, and regulating its pressure upon the thread byadjusting the stress of a spring against the pad. The device is alsogreatly superior to themethod of increasing or diminishing the frictionof the thread by running it through a greater or less number of holes,as such manipulation requires not only the removal of the shuttle, andbreakageof the thread each time the tension "is to be changed, but s.considerable handling of the thread, which is obviated in myconstruction where the stress of the pad is adjusted through therotation of the wheel I.

I claim combining with the screw-shaft the spur or toothed wheel or nut,or its equivalent,throughrotation of which the movement of the shaft iseffected, to regulate the stress of the tension spring, substantially asset forth. p

I also claim the combination of the hinged pad or plate c,' and theadjusting spring h, when constructed and arranged tooperatesubstantially as set forth.

T. K. REED.

Witnesses:

